The body of the late Pope Francis, who passed away yesterday, will be transferred to St Peter’s Basilica at 09:00 tomorrow to lie in state until his funeral on Saturday at 10:00.

The Holy See Press Office announced today that Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside at the funeral mass, which will be concelebrated by patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests from across the globe.

The Eucharistic celebration will conclude with the Ultima commendatio and the Valedictio, marking the beginning of the Novemdiales, nine days of mourning and masses for the repose of Francis’s soul.

The late pope’s body will then be taken into St Peter’s Basilica and then to the Basilica of St Mary Major for entombment.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, will preside over the rite of translation tomorrow, which will begin at 09:00 with a moment of prayer.

The procession will pass through Santa Marta Square and the Square of the Roman Protomartyrs, according to the Holy See Press Office.

The procession will then exit through the Arch of the Bells into St Peter’s Square and enter the Vatican Basilica through the central door.

At the Altar of the Confession, Farrell will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, after which the visits to the body will commence.

Pope Francis’ spiritual testament, dated 29 June 2022, has been published, giving indications for his burial in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.https://t.co/8KH3Yi2cF1

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 21, 2025

Death identified as stroke

According to Vatican News, the cause of the pope’s death has been identified as a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.

Dr Andrea Arcangeli, director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State, issued the official certification, and the Holy See Press Office released the report last night.

According to the medical report, the pope had a prior history of acute respiratory failure caused by multimicrobial bilateral pneumonia, multiple bronchiectases, high blood pressure and Type II diabetes.

Pope Francis will be buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in the Pauline Chapel, which houses the ancient icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani, as he requested in his Spiritual Testament.

The Holy See Press Office announced that Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, the Director of the… pic.twitter.com/LqXEHgqzhj

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 21, 2025

Confirming the death

The rite confirming the death and the placement of the pope’s body in the coffin took place last night, in the ground-floor chapel of the Casa Santa Marta.

The official declaration of death was read aloud. The act was validated by Farrell. The ceremony lasted just under an hour.

Seals were also placed on the papal apartment on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace and on the apartment on the second floor of Casa Santa Marta, where the pope lived.

Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Farrell presides over the rite of the ascertainment of death and the placement of the late Pope Francis’ body in the coffin, which took place on Monday evening in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta. pic.twitter.com/63aPKTW9nD

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 22, 2025

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